In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. Now, in
The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics: a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of "our improbable experiment in democracy".

5 out of 5 stars

The only thing wrong with it...

By
Pat Furrie
on
03-07-07

Collusion

Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win

By:
Luke Harding

Narrated by:
Ralph Lister

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
718

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
647

Story

5 out of 5 stars
644

Russia expert Luke Harding lays out the most in-depth look to date at the Trump campaign's dealings with Russia. Beginning with a meeting with Christopher Steele, the man behind the shattering dossier that first brought the allegations to light, Harding probes the histories of key Russian and American players with striking clarity and insight. Harding exposes the disquieting details of the Trump-Russia story - a saga so huge it involves international espionage, offshore banks, sketchy real estate deals, mobsters, money laundering, disappeared dissidents, and more.

5 out of 5 stars

a must read for all Americans

By
Julie L Sparrow
on
12-24-17

Michelle Obama

A Life

By:
Peter Slevin

Narrated by:
Robin Miles

Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
298

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
256

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
256

An inspiring story of a modern American icon, here is the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama. With disciplined reporting and a storyteller’s eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago’s largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago.

3 out of 5 stars

Disappointingly written but she's still an impressive woman

By
Book and art lover
on
04-25-16

It's Even Worse Than You Think

What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America

By:
David Cay Johnston

Narrated by:
Danny Campbell

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
198

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
177

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
174

No working journalist knows Donald Trump better than David Cay Johnston, who first met the 45th president in 1988 and has tracked him ever since. Featuring Johnston's renowned skill in bringing government policy to life, this crucial book explains how our daily lives will be affected by the actions of the Trump Administration. This book is essential listening for all Americans.

5 out of 5 stars

An important look at America under Trump

By
Elisabeth Carey
on
01-24-18

Playing with Fire

The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics

By:
Lawrence O'Donnell

Narrated by:
Lawrence O'Donnell

Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
391

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
366

Story

5 out of 5 stars
364

The 1968 US presidential election was the young Lawrence O'Donnell's political awakening, and in the decades since it has remained one of his abiding fascinations. For years he has deployed one of America's shrewdest political minds to understanding its dynamics, not just because it is fascinating in itself but because in it is contained the essence of what makes America different and how we got to where we are now.

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant synthesis of history past and present

By
Dwight Lancelot Clarke
on
11-12-17

What Happened

By:
Hillary Rodham Clinton

Narrated by:
Hillary Rodham Clinton

Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
9,012

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
8,196

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
8,151

For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.

5 out of 5 stars

You must read this book

By
ForMar
on
10-16-17

The Audacity of Hope

Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

By:
Barack Obama

Narrated by:
Barack Obama

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Abridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,748

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,663

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,653

In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. Now, in
The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics: a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of "our improbable experiment in democracy".

5 out of 5 stars

The only thing wrong with it...

By
Pat Furrie
on
03-07-07

Collusion

Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win

By:
Luke Harding

Narrated by:
Ralph Lister

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
718

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
647

Story

5 out of 5 stars
644

Russia expert Luke Harding lays out the most in-depth look to date at the Trump campaign's dealings with Russia. Beginning with a meeting with Christopher Steele, the man behind the shattering dossier that first brought the allegations to light, Harding probes the histories of key Russian and American players with striking clarity and insight. Harding exposes the disquieting details of the Trump-Russia story - a saga so huge it involves international espionage, offshore banks, sketchy real estate deals, mobsters, money laundering, disappeared dissidents, and more.

5 out of 5 stars

a must read for all Americans

By
Julie L Sparrow
on
12-24-17

Michelle Obama

A Life

By:
Peter Slevin

Narrated by:
Robin Miles

Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
298

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
256

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
256

An inspiring story of a modern American icon, here is the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama. With disciplined reporting and a storyteller’s eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago’s largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago.

3 out of 5 stars

Disappointingly written but she's still an impressive woman

By
Book and art lover
on
04-25-16

It's Even Worse Than You Think

What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America

By:
David Cay Johnston

Narrated by:
Danny Campbell

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
198

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
177

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
174

No working journalist knows Donald Trump better than David Cay Johnston, who first met the 45th president in 1988 and has tracked him ever since. Featuring Johnston's renowned skill in bringing government policy to life, this crucial book explains how our daily lives will be affected by the actions of the Trump Administration. This book is essential listening for all Americans.

5 out of 5 stars

An important look at America under Trump

By
Elisabeth Carey
on
01-24-18

Playing with Fire

The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics

By:
Lawrence O'Donnell

Narrated by:
Lawrence O'Donnell

Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
391

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
366

Story

5 out of 5 stars
364

The 1968 US presidential election was the young Lawrence O'Donnell's political awakening, and in the decades since it has remained one of his abiding fascinations. For years he has deployed one of America's shrewdest political minds to understanding its dynamics, not just because it is fascinating in itself but because in it is contained the essence of what makes America different and how we got to where we are now.

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant synthesis of history past and present

By
Dwight Lancelot Clarke
on
11-12-17

What Happened

By:
Hillary Rodham Clinton

Narrated by:
Hillary Rodham Clinton

Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
9,012

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
8,196

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
8,151

For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.

5 out of 5 stars

You must read this book

By
ForMar
on
10-16-17

Promise Me, Dad

A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose

By:
Joe Biden

Narrated by:
Joe Biden

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,568

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
2,319

Story

5 out of 5 stars
2,306

In November 2014, 13 members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past 40 years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before.

5 out of 5 stars

A Sad Memoir

By
Jean
on
12-02-17

We Are the Change We Seek

The Speeches of Barack Obama

By:
E. J. Dionne,
Joy Reid

Narrated by:
J. D. Jackson

Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
15

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
13

Story

5 out of 5 stars
13

We Are the Change We Seek is a collection of Barack Obama's 26 greatest addresses: beginning with his 2002 speech opposing the Iraq War and closing with his final speech before the United Nations in September 2016. As president, Obama's words had the power to move the country, and often the world, as few presidents before him.

5 out of 5 stars

A must read

By
Biespitz
on
04-08-17

Educated

A Memoir

By:
Tara Westover

Narrated by:
Julia Whelan

Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
1,219

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
1,123

Story

5 out of 5 stars
1,117

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism.

5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't stop listening!

By
W. K. Caldwell
on
02-23-18

The Black Presidency

Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America

By:
Michael Eric Dyson

Narrated by:
Michael Eric Dyson

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
163

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
146

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
142

A provocative, lively deep dive into the meaning of America's first black president and first black presidency, from "one of the most graceful and lucid intellectuals writing on race and politics today" (
Vanity Fair).

5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Love author Michael Eric Dyson

By
Pamela Singleton
on
03-09-16

Devil's Bargain

Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Nationalist Uprising

By:
Joshua Green

Narrated by:
Fred Sanders

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,390

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,227

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,224

From the reporter who was there at the very beginning comes the revealing inside story of the partnership between Steve Bannon and Donald Trump - the key to understanding the rise of the alt-right, the fall of Hillary Clinton, and the hidden forces that drove the greatest upset in American political history.

4 out of 5 stars

Bannon elects Trump

By
Charles P. Oconnor
on
09-08-17

Thanks, Obama

My Hopey, Changey White House Years

By:
David Litt

Narrated by:
David Litt

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
497

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
455

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
454

More than any other presidency, Barack Obama's eight years in the White House were defined by young people - 20-somethings who didn't have much experience in politics (or anything else, for that matter) yet suddenly found themselves in the most high-stakes office building on earth. David Litt was one of those 20-somethings. After graduating from college in 2008, he went straight to the Obama campaign. In 2011 he became one of the youngest White House speechwriters in history.

5 out of 5 stars

New favorite non-fiction audiobook

By
D. Rowland
on
10-03-17

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump

27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President

By:
Bandy X. Lee - editor M.D.

Narrated by:
Nanette Gartrell,
Luba Kessler,
Bandy X. Lee,
and others

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
458

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
401

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
403

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump describes the consensus view held by two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists that Donald Trump is dangerously mentally ill and that he presents a clear and present danger to the nation and our own mental health.

2 out of 5 stars

Disappointng

By
Mark Andreadis
on
12-29-17

Unbelievable

My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History

By:
Katy Tur

Narrated by:
Katy Tur

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,909

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,747

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,740

The NBC journalist who covered - and took fire from - Donald Trump on the campaign trail offers an inside look at the most shocking presidential election in American history. Intriguing, disturbing, and powerful,
Unbelievable is an unprecedented eyewitness account of the 2016 election from an intelligent, dedicated journalist at the center of it - a thoughtful historical record that offers eye-opening insights and details on our political process, the media, and the mercurial 45th president of the United States.

5 out of 5 stars

ENLIGHTENING WITH MUCH HUMOR -LIKE YOU WERE THERE

By
v2o777
on
09-18-17

Tears We Cannot Stop

A Sermon to White America

By:
Michael Eric Dyson

Narrated by:
Michael Eric Dyson

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,011

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
917

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
907

Fifty years ago Malcolm X told a white woman who asked what she could do for the cause, "Nothing." Dyson believes he was wrong. In
Tears We Cannot Stop, he responds to that question. If we are to make real racial progress, we must face difficult truths, including being honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed, or discounted.

5 out of 5 stars

Invite this man in and listen closely

By
Catherine S. Read
on
02-03-17

Audacity

How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy That Will Prevail

By:
Jonathan Chait

Narrated by:
Mike Chamberlain

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
111

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
98

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
96

Over the course of eight years, Barack Obama has amassed an array of outstanding achievements. His administration saved the American economy from collapse, expanded health insurance to millions who previously could not afford it, negotiated an historic nuclear deal with Iran, helped craft a groundbreaking international climate accord, reined in Wall Street, and crafted a new vision of racial progress.

5 out of 5 stars

Good and balanced view of the Obama years

By
Paul
on
02-01-17

The Bridge

The Life and Rise of Barack Obama

By:
David Remnick

Narrated by:
Mark Deakins

Length: 24 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
113

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
71

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
71

No story has been more central to America's history in this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and, until now, no journalist or historian has written a book that fully investigates the circumstances and experiences of Obama's life or explores the ambition behind his rise. Now, from a writer whose gift for illuminating the historical significance of unfolding events is without peer, we have a portrait of a young man in search of himself and of a rising politician determined to become the first African-American president.

4 out of 5 stars

Good biography even if you know the story

By
Amr
on
12-31-11

Dark Money

The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

By:
Jane Mayer

Narrated by:
Kirsten Potter

Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,266

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,944

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,919

Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again? Why have protections for employees been decimated? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? The conventional answer is that a popular uprising against "big government" led to the rise of a broad-based conservative movement.

4 out of 5 stars

Fact attack

By
Mark
on
05-29-16

Publisher's Summary

A major publishing event: an unprecedented look into the life of the woman who most singularly shaped Barack Obama: his mother.

President Obama has written extensively about his father, but little is known about Stanley Ann Dunham, the fiercely independent woman who raised him, the person he credits for, as he says, "what is best in me." Here is the missing piece of the story. Award-winning reporter Janny Scott interviewed nearly 200 of Dunham's friends, colleagues, and relatives (including both her children), and combed through boxes of personal and professional papers, letters to friends, and photo albums, to uncover the full breadth of this woman's inspiring and untraditional life, and to show the remarkable extent to which she shaped the man Obama is today.

Dunham's story moves from Kansas and Washington state to Hawaii and Indonesia. It begins in a time when interracial marriage was still a felony in much of the United States, and culminates in the present, with her son as our president - something she never got to see. It is a poignant look at how character is passed from parent to child, and offers insight into how Obama's destiny was created early, by his mother's extraordinary faith in his gifts and by her unconventional mothering. Finally, it is a heartbreaking story of a woman who died at age 52, before her son would go on to his greatest accomplishments and reflections of what she taught him.

What a Woman!

What a woman! I was very impressed with this book. I do not usually read non-fiction. But this was the first book available for Kindle from my local library. I downloaded the Audible version to help hold my attention to the text.

If there were any books that could bring the plight of women to light it is this book. Here we have a woman who had family who were college educated and encouraged their offspring to seek the highest education possible. This woman went to Indonesia to study the poor, especially the women.

Don't think about this book as an extension of the President. She was her own person even before her son was born. It seems she had all the breaks, got to travel and all, but she had the courage of her convictions and goals to help others.

I think many women who read this will see a part of themselves reflected back. Had my mother had the opportunity that Stanley Ann Durham had I think she would have been a happier person. Having a happy, well define parent could only result in happy, well defined children.

A Remarkable Woman

Having traveled throughout Indonesia, while paying special attention to cultural aspects of the people (funeral celebrations and so forth) and buying my fair share of local handicrafts, I was thoroughly delighted with this book. I was so impressed with Janny Scott's investigative reporting on Ann Dunham's intellect, interests, travels and anthropology studies that I just bought a copy of Dunham's doctoral thesis, "Surviving Against the Odds". While she may not have been the perfect parent, Ms. Dunham instilled superior values in her two children who have excelled beyond the expectations of most parents for their offspring. The interviews with her children were particularly enlightening and enjoyable. I highly recommend this book. It ended far too soon for me.

A PhD in Anthropology?!

I had no idea how educated Barack Obama's mother was. A PhD in Anthropology no less. What an amazing woman. Unconventional, intellectual and dedicated to improving the plight of poor women, especially in Indonesia. I knew she was born in Kansas and died of cancer in her fifties. She was so much more and now I know. And she has an amazing daughter, Maya.

Amazing story about an amazing woman

Would you listen to A Singular Woman again? Why?

Yes, I may listen to it again. The story was fascinating about a woman born before WWII who manages against many odds to make a career in a male field while raising two bi racial children in racist countries.

It is also an Americana story, life in Kansas and how people move about the country.

And it tells us a lot about Barack Obama and how he got to be who he is? Want to know Barack Obama? Forget D-nish's projections. Read this book

What other book might you compare A Singular Woman to and why?

As an American story about a singular person it reminded me of Ron Reagan's My Father At 100. I enjoyed them both and gained a lot of insight.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too long, although I would listen to it going from North Carolina to New Jersey. It would make the time fly.

"Always on the outside looking in"

J. Scott's research pieces the details of S. Ann Dunham's life. Her life as a caring, loving mother to two inter-racial children; her hardships as a single mother with an inter-racial child growing up in the 60's in Hawaii & Indonesia; and her devoted research as an anthropologist working in Indonesia. No matter your politics, this is an interesting account of Ann's life that ultimately affected the world and basically changed history. The book has alot of detail about Indonesia and gets technical at times. As a daughter of an Italian mother who left her entire family to move to the US, I remained intrigued by Ann's need to always go back to Indonesia and somehow live a life as someone on the outside looking in.

Excellent!

A three-dimensional portrait of this unusual woman. A tip: through either a production error or a hyper-caffeinated narrator, the reading of this book is much too fast...and I found it annoying. If you listen on your ipod, I suggest going to Settings and changing the speed to Slower. There's a bit of an echo but for me it was less irritating than the ridiculous speed of the reading on 'normal'.

Woman's Work

The author reveals that Stanley Ann Dunham had a list of impressive academic credentials, a the determination to help Asian women, an iconoclastic personality, and a deep love for her family. What made Stanley Ann singular was her commitment to prove that a woman's work is sometimes hard on her own family but worth the effort to elevate the status of women all over the world. Her marriages to an African and an Indonesian were motivated by love. Her commitment to her work was driven by passion.

Ann gave up time with her children to carry out her work, as would most men. However, she provided her children with love, vision, and character. Her inability to save money and her spontaneity left her without the funds to have proper cancer therapy and led to her untimely death.

Ann was unique at a time when the women's movement was taking shape and did more than her share to promote women as financial providers for their family. The irony is that she could not do the same for herself.

The author spend a bit too much time on the intricacies of Indonesian cottage industries. However, she did, I feel, capture Ann's humanity, flaws and all.

Infinite star person, noble book effort, ok audio

Hopefully this woman's story will continue to be told in this and in other ways that capture her drive, romanticism and love of people and culture from different nations. I would welcome a different audible reading that is slower with pauses that allow more time to capture the spirit - her spirit, her expansive world's spirit, at the special moments, of which there are many, articulated in this book.